Rebuilding 390 Engine

dirtyoldman

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To keep the old classics alive :thumbs:
Keeping Old Alive is what I am about! spending thousnds of dollars on a 100% restoration , verses $10,000.00 on a street rod! what does a guy do ?:dunno::tmc:

That's a tuff question.Since I'm not into street rods(but I do appreciate their beauty) and love trucks I'd lean towards restoring the old stuff,or at lest give it a facelift.I just wish I lived closer to David....:thumbs:

Had a '77 GMC I was working on.....gone now,son wrecked it :fume:
 

dkwelder

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To keep the old classics alive :thumbs:
Keeping Old Alive is what I am about! spending thousnds of dollars on a 100% restoration , verses $10,000.00 on a street rod! what does a guy do ?:dunno::tmc:

That's a tuff question.Since I'm not into street rods(but I do appreciate their beauty) and love trucks I'd lean towards restoring the old stuff,or at lest give it a facelift.I just wish I lived closer to David....:thumbs:

Had a '77 GMC I was working on.....gone now,son wrecked it :fume:
OUCH ! sorry to hear that! I run a mobile repair welding truck. I have a pick of it in the garage.So when I am out welding on these farms I come across of a lot of old truck sitting in the trees. and I end up hauling alot of that stuff home !,lol:lol: when I get the post pic thing figured out on this forum, LOOK out ! I do have some cool stuff to show off ! :thumbs::tmc:
 

PenguinLTZ

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OUCH ! sorry to hear that! I run a mobile repair welding truck. I have a pick of it in the garage.So when I am out welding on these farms I come across of a lot of old truck sitting in the trees. and I end up hauling alot of that stuff home !,lol:lol: when I get the post pic thing figured out on this forum, LOOK out ! I do have some cool stuff to show off ! :thumbs::tmc:


Read this, it will help :thumbs:
http://www.truckmodcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6410
 

dirtyoldman

I'm now on Medicare,officially old.
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To keep the old classics alive :thumbs:
Keeping Old Alive is what I am about! spending thousnds of dollars on a 100% restoration , verses $10,000.00 on a street rod! what does a guy do ?:dunno::tmc:

That's a tuff question.Since I'm not into street rods(but I do appreciate their beauty) and love trucks I'd lean towards restoring the old stuff,or at lest give it a facelift.I just wish I lived closer to David....:thumbs:

Had a '77 GMC I was working on.....gone now,son wrecked it :fume:
OUCH ! sorry to hear that! I run a mobile repair welding truck. I have a pick of it in the garage.So when I am out welding on these farms I come across of a lot of old truck sitting in the trees. and I end up hauling alot of that stuff home !,lol:lol: when I get the post pic thing figured out on this forum, LOOK out ! I do have some cool stuff to show off ! :thumbs::tmc:

Yep,I've seen it :thumbs:I can only imagine what kind of vehicles you come across...the '50s & '60s are my fav since those years were my young days :D I'm glad to see David bringing that old 390 back to life...390s were excellent engines :thumbs: IIRC it's going in an old Ford truck,'67 I think.
 

dkwelder

"God Created Man,Sam Colt Made Them Equal"
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To keep the old classics alive :thumbs:
Keeping Old Alive is what I am about! spending thousnds of dollars on a 100% restoration , verses $10,000.00 on a street rod! what does a guy do ?:dunno::tmc:

That's a tuff question.Since I'm not into street rods(but I do appreciate their beauty) and love trucks I'd lean towards restoring the old stuff,or at lest give it a facelift.I just wish I lived closer to David....:thumbs:

Had a '77 GMC I was working on.....gone now,son wrecked it :fume:
OUCH ! sorry to hear that! I run a mobile repair welding truck. I have a pick of it in the garage.So when I am out welding on these farms I come across of a lot of old truck sitting in the trees. and I end up hauling alot of that stuff home !,lol:lol: when I get the post pic thing figured out on this forum, LOOK out ! I do have some cool stuff to show off ! :thumbs::tmc:

Yep,I've seen it :thumbs:I can only imagine what kind of vehicles you come across...the '50s & '60s are my fav since those years were my young days :D I'm glad to see David bringing that old 390 back to life...390s were excellent engines :thumbs: IIRC it's going in an old Ford truck,'67 I think.
My old 69 1 ton started out with a 390. no joke, and a C6 automatic. well back in the day that would have been just fine.I wanted a work truck, so I dumped a 429 into it with a manual 4speed and 410 gears. my rear tires are 14ply each and a spring pack from hell. a 390 sucks gas, my 429 sucks gas and has lots of power. A 390 is cool if you dont mind the cost of gas. If you want to do something with it? there are much better Ford engines out there to do the job. Just my personal thoughts is all. :thumbs::tmc:
 

OldCracker29

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Those old 429's would haul ass.
Good luck on your 390 David. :thumbs:
 

dkwelder

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Those old 429's would haul ass.
Good luck on your 390 David. :thumbs:
I have some friends who are old school Ford nuts.:ford: So they are my go to guys when I need a little history lesson on what will and wont bolt together. Ford is nothing like Chevy when it comes to bolting different years together,big or small block.I believe the 429 was only offered in the cars and not pick-up trucks.There was a 429 offered in the 2 ton truck application, I believe the block design had a taller deck surface for the intake. My friends would run the 429's in their mud pulling truck,because it was a faster rev engine over the 460.They have lots of trophies sitting around so they must have had something figured out!:thumbs: I have found that its a lot cheaper to build a Chevy engine for Hot Rodding around then a Ford. Back in the day,I used to run a 400 SB in my old 1956 F-100 short box with straight pipes for fun! No replacement for displacement!:ohnoes:
 

PenguinLTZ

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I went to measure the inside diameter of the cylinders with a telescopic gauge then measured it with a outside micrometer and I got 4.077 on all 8. I went to to inspect the pistons and found that they have "30" stamped on them meaning 30 over. So measured the diameter of the piston with 4-5 inch micrometer and got 4.077 on all 8 pistons. I have 4.050 for stock cylinder bore. The piston to wall is .0015 when measuring with a piston feeler gauge. Does that sound right?

No.
 

daddy

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Does what sound right? You are the only one there to measure these things. We can only assume you know how to read the calipers and gauges.

I know the title says "Rebuilding", but what exactly are you looking for from the forum? Where do you need help? What do you want to know?

:cheers:
 

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